The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-08-31
FRED. DOUGLASS TALKS.
Chat About His European Rambles-No
Color Line Across the Water.

Since Friedrich Douglass returned few
days ago from his eleven months tour in
the eastern hemisphere, says The Washing
ton Post, the old house on the hill where
he lives in Uniontown has been visited by
scores of friends and admirers who have
journeyed over to welcome the distin-
guished traveller back again. In the after
noon be is generally seated in the midst of
q number OF visitors of all colors, out on
the spacious verande in front of the house,
bareheaded with his bCsby, white hair
spreading itself out over his shoulders.
To parties he generally tells his stories out
on the veranda individuals he receives in
the library. His desk is located in the
recess of bay-window looking out upon
the green grass and the trees in the orchard
aud the large brick stable where the owner
keeps half a dozen carriages of various
kinds. 1t is coy and busineSs-like study,
and not without evidences OF artistic taste
in the way of rare pictures and statuary.
Since he looked upon the woods wherein
Plato and Aristotle used to walk and de-
liver their psripatetic lectures to their dis
ciples in the days of Grecian greatness,
Mr.. Douglass sometimes throws open the
window of his study and for variety walks
out upon the pathway through the orchard
toward the stable.
Mr.. Douglass looks fresh and vigorous
and active. He takes pleasure in telling
how he carried his seventy years and go
pounds mp to the top of the highest pyra-
mid in Egypt, which, being 472 feet above
the ground, is only surpassed in height by
the Washington monument. There's no
regular stairwsys," said he, "to the pyra-
mid. The road one has to climb is very ir-
regular. Sometimes one has to rise three
or four feet at single step. OF course"
said he, 81 bad four Arabs to help me.
Two went before and puLed-or were sup
eoI 80 mil TIM nd
were supposed to push-behind; but l had
to do most of the work myself.
II did not spend much time In England.
In Liverpool sisid two or three weeks,
making myself familiar with that great
shipping port. In London 1 staid only
few days. / might have waited longer,
but it began to be so fogey that l crossed
over to Paris, where L spent two months.
The finest scholsr / met in Europe Was
a young negro as black as jet-a full
blooded negro. He took all the prizes last
year at the College of France. a man is
not kept down there as he is in this conn
try on account of his color. When 1 passed
through Paris on my way home, the prin-
cipal theaters OF Paris were playing the
works of colored dramatist, while other
pieces of which he ia the author were run
ming at the other theaters, aud delighted
the gay est city in the world. This same
colored dramatist, Dumas, was driving in
from his country place every day to watch
the players rehearsing his Camille do
not consider the younger Dumas equal to
bis father, but he has ability enough 10
have made himself rich by bis writings.
In some respects l regard the elder Dumas
who was q mulatto, as the superior of Vic.
tor Hugo. He may not Zoe generally so
profound or so mellow, but, in my opin.
ion, with all its inconsistencies and i'm.
probabilities, Victor Hugo could never
have written The Count OF Monte Cristo.'
| The elder Dumas was born, l think, in
Martinique. In the next room / have a
picture of his father, full-blooded negro,
Gen. Dumas, who was one of Napoleors
| favorite generals.
After travelling through France, Italy
and Greece, crossed over to Egypt. Rome
is great, and, as the center of the Christian
religion, must always be the most interest
| ing place on earth to Christian people,
| The remains of the magnificent architec-
ture of ancient Greece to be seen at Athens
are wonderful. They are certainly the
monuments of great people. But then
| the great people of yesterday are not the
people of to-day. We meet no julius
C@sars in the streets of Rome now, In
Athens We see some of the giants and demi.
| gods whose monuments are in the Pdrthe-
non and other magnificent architectural
ruins. The British, who were such wretch.
ed specimens OF humanity that julius
Caesar would not take them into his slavery,
have now developed into the greatest Deo-
pie in the modern world. OF course there
are no pure British now, but the mixture
of Saxon, Norman and British has produced
the man.
my mission to Egypt was to see il. |
could not trace some connection between
the ancient Egyptisns sDd the African
negroes Of to-day. You know that an
cient writer's on ethnology have been try
ing to cut the negro off from any ancient
greatness. 1 had found the.Egyptians des
cribed as having dark skin, curly hair,
high cheek homes distended nostrils, and
Il lex lips. / went there to make my own
observations aud form my own conclu-
sioDs. OF course the pure Egyptian has
been mixed up very much with the Arabs,
but the characteristic features of the an.
Gent Egyptians srej still preserved among
the Copts of Egypt. | must say L re-
TUNED from my trip with the conviction
that the pegeo could not be connected with
this people. The Egyptians proper are q
people by themselves. They are not eau
casians, but they are not negroes. The
pure negro is not found farther north on
the African continent than the Soudsn.
The Soudanese are genuine negroes. aud a
fine race Of people they are, intelligent
ard brave. As soldiers the English prefer
ths Soudanese 10 the Egyptians"
GAS enemies you mean?"
mo, IS allies.
s'The negroes will have to look to the
future and not to the past for the great
ness Of their race. They cannot establish
their claim to the glories of old Egypt;
but who knows that in the course Of time
they may not change places with those
who still regard them as an inferior race,
Just as the British have changed places
with the Romans. America beats toe
world for material civilization; we are bat
ter fed, better housed, better clothed, and
think generally better instructed than
any people living; but in moral ciViliza
ton America is still behind Europe and
the Old World. Americans have not YET
learned how to value human life and char
acter. A negro does not suffer in England
because of his color. There I could go to
the church, to the theater, to any public
place, to any hotel or restaurant and I re
ceived equal treatment with the whitest
man in the land. In this country l Car
| not go into M ordinary restaurant where
white people frequent and buy myself 9
q breakfast or lunch. Personally havs
been permitted to enter where other col
| ored folks have been excluded; but I re
member The howl created by the newspa
pers about two years ago when took th'
liberty OF visiting DR.. Sunderland
church. However, the remainder of my
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